Blundering Soros-backed Philly DA let suspected murderer walk free in 2023… now he’s accused of killing a police officer
Philadelphia police officer Shane Seiber was killed and his partner wounded in a shooting while responding to reports of an armed man in West Philadelphia. The suspect, Eric Lewis, is accused of the attack; the case has renewed scrutiny of how he was acquitted in a 2019 murder trial after prosecutors failed to present potentially important evidence.
Lewis, 35, had been charged with killing Christopher Williams, 32, who was shot in 2019. A witness identified Lewis, and prosecutors presented video of a Nissan linked to the shooting, but they did not present his mobile phone location records; the judge found the case had not proved his guilt. Seiber, a 10-year police veteran, was shot three times, while his 33-year-old partner was shot 12 times and was reported in stable condition. District Attorney Larry Krasner said prosecutors would bring dozens of charges against Lewis in the officer's killing.
- Eric Lewis is accused of killing Philadelphia officer Shane Seiber.
- Lewis was acquitted in a 2019 murder case in 2023.
- Prosecutors did not present his phone location records at that trial.
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Philadelphia’s district attorney prosecutes criminal cases, while a judge or jury decides whether the evidence proves a defendant’s guilt. Eric Lewis was tried over the 2019 shooting death of Christopher Williams; prosecutors presented a witness identification and video of a car linked to the shooting, but not records showing where Lewis’s phone had been.
The judge acquitted Lewis, ruling that the prosecution had not proved the case. That earlier trial is now part of the public discussion because Lewis is accused in a separate shooting involving Philadelphia police officers. An accusation is not a finding of guilt, and the new case must be decided on its own evidence.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Critics argue that prosecutors’ failure to present potentially important phone-location records in the 2019 murder trial may have weakened the case and left a dangerous person at large. The later accusations make it reasonable to scrutinise whether the prosecution handled the evidence competently and whether avoidable errors undermined public safety and trust in the justice system.
The case against
An acquittal must be judged by the evidence properly presented at trial, and the judge concluded the prosecution had not proved Lewis’s guilt; a witness identification and video of a vehicle linked to the shooting did not, on their own, establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Prosecutors cannot secure a conviction by withholding the burden of proof, and the later accusation does not show that Lewis committed the earlier murder or that the acquittal was wrongful.